The Road to Enlightenment or The Path to Darkness: One or The Other
by Thugs Bunny 009
Summary: AU. A three way crossover spectacular - Having been raised to enshroud himself in darkness, Yusuke Urameshi has the chance to step into the light when he is summoned to the looniest town ever. Question is, will the kindness of two tsundere girls be enough to coax him into accepting or will Ranma and Akane succumb to the darkness in Yusuke's heart? Dark!Yusuke.
1. One Devil for Another

**Disclaimer: I don't own YuYu Hakusho - Tekken and lastly, Ranma 1/2**

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><p><span>The Road to Enlightenment or The Path to Darkness: One or The Other<span>

Chapter One 

**One Devil for Another**

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><p>"Well isn't this convenient?" A young seventeen year old male once identified as Yusuke Urameshi dryly quipped to himself, standing in a mildly clean dojo wearing a pair of green tinted shades to emanate an aura of swagger, a white short-sleeved t shirt underneath a long-sleeved dress shirt. Complementing his casual appearance was a pair of beige slacks and green sandals on his feet.<p>

Contrary to the implications of being randomly dragged to a martial arts dojo by teleportation means, Yusuke _actually _wanted to bail on his respective guardian anyway. He had just gotten the preparations ready when the imaginary bus had randomly appeared to pick him up and bring him here of all places.

The black-haired youth could guess one of the two gentlemen that happened to be staring inquisitively at him had a hand in luring him to their destination. One was a youngster and the other was an _unbelievably _short old man.

"What did ya do, freak?"

Ah. Okay. So Yusuke was learning things now, 'So, going by that wannabe ghetto boy's inquiry, the elderly smurf's the catalyst." Yusuke observed, expressionlessly staring them down, 'Depending on what he planned for me to do in his stead I might just have to kill him.' Who was he kidding? He _wanted _to kill him.

The red-clad, long braided black-haired boy shivered from Yusuke's emotionless face, 'Sumthin' bout this guy gives me the creeps, but I can't put my finger on it." The red on his person happened to be a sleeveless red Gi top, with black loose-fitting pants to add on to the martial arts theme he had going on, and black footwear that resembled slippers rounded it all off. Like the teen he was unfamiliar with across the room, he also had tanned-skin befitting of a regular Japanese-civilian, though unlike Yusuke this boy had blue eyes as opposed to his that were being kept concealed by his shades.

"Eh? I'm not quite sure to tell ya the truth, fella."

A scowl of repugnance appeared on Yusuke's face at the elderly man's improper speech mechanisms, 'Tch. He sounds like an uneducated brat,' Yusuke could understand why the braided-styled boy had the speech mechanisms of a hill-billy, since he was, well, still young. His excuse could always be that he didn't have anyone to force feed him knowledge and make him read books to broaden his vocabulary like what Yusuke had.

What was the old man's excuse other than being too lazy to actually educate himself?

As Yusuke coolly twirled his head in the elderly midget's direction with an icy cold glare he leaked a touch of unbearable killing intent, enough to make the red-clad boy cautiously slide back with an wide-eyed expression on his face.

'W-What t-the h-heck's that?' He stammered in fear, feeling a tremble in his legs, 'I-I d-don't e-even feel p-presence this spooky when rough-housing with pigboy or fighting tooth-and-nail with the old ghoul for a way ta unlock my curse,' This guy was seriously beginning to scare the bejeebers out of the self-proclaimed "man-among-men" and unless one wasn't a girl emanating righteous feminine-fury, that wasn't a cake walk in his honest opinion.

"I was trying to summon a demon from the dreaded netherworld to teach ya a lesson for interrupting me on my treasure hunt and causing me to lose my bountiful collection," The tiny old man said, but the admittance of his underwear fetish caused a look of annoyance to appear on the red clad youth's face.

"Ya dolt! It was yer own fault fer falling fer such a cheap trick!" He retorted heatedly.

"Baw! Ya should've waited till I returned home to gimme that apple you threw, you disrespectful hoodlum!" The diminutive petulant elder retaliated.

The braided-haired boy expression morphed into one of dry casualness, "Yeah, and let ya waltz away with a bunch of ladies' underwear, right?" He asked with distinguishable sarcasm, earning himself a cheery nod from the old man, "Yeah. That'll happen when hell freezes over, ya old freak."

Apparently, the dubbed "Old freak" didn't appreciate the teenage boy's sarcastic vow, "Grr! I'd watch my tone when I speak to my elders if I were ya, Ranma, ya ungrateful hooligan!" He screeched chidingly, pointing impudently at Yusuke, "For all ya know that could be the demon taken human form come to clobber ya for your insolence!"

'Cuz he's the most cuddliest guy on the planet,' Ranma reflected sarcastically, happy the old man turned away from him to admire the frightening young man so he wouldn't see Ranma's heedful look of apprehension, 'The guy just reeks of bad news.'

Despite his fear, he instinctively shifted back into his bored persona when the elderly male whirled back to him, a memorized speech playing through his head, '_Real men don't show their feelings, m'boy._' He could remember his father's lecture as if it was only yesterday, most likely because he hammered it down his throat every day during his adolescent days so even a kid with a shortened memory problem like Ranma would remember it.

"Like I would fall fer that old man," He quipped, neatly folding his arms behind his back.

"Grrr! You'll fall for it when the demon's clobbering ya to oblivion, brat!" The old man retaliated.

Ranma expertly suppressed a cringe, "As if he'll even take orders from a pipsqueak shrimp, who doesn't even come up ta his knee, ya freak."

The little elder repeatedly stomped his feet into the ground in a petulant manner, "He will, he will, he will, I say!" His childish tantrum caused a look of annoyed disgust to flash across Yusuke's face, something the observant Ranma didn't fail to pick up on.

"_H-Heh_. Then why don't cha see fer yourself, ya old freak?" Ranma warily challenged.

The old freak pouted, sticking his nose into the air, "Then don't go anywhere brat because I'll have him on ya faster than a pit-bull, I tell ya!"

"All right, I've had just about enough of your damned immaturity, old man," The raising irritation in the young man's voice sent a shiver through Ranma, before he demanded with finality, "You're going to cut that shit out right now, or else."

"Oh, of course, of course," The elder droned on with a few mock nods of agreement with his head, not quite sure what the young man meant, "Anyway, it pleases me to see ya can speak our language rather fluidly, demon," He said with approval, crossing his arms over his chest while Ranma rolled his eyes, "Greetings and salutations. As ya have probably already guessed from my conversation with this ungrateful brat over here," Ranma stuck his tongue out at the scowling elder, "I am the one who summoned ya, which of course by right makes me your master. Ya may refer to me as Happosai."

Merely continuing to glance indifferently at the victorious, cheerful expression of the elderly man now identified as Happosai, Yusuke rounded on the black braided-haired boy, catching him heedfully eyeing him with a bead of sweat rolling down his cheek. He even flinched when Yusuke gazed at him with icy cold orbs.

Smart. At least he had some semblance of common sense.

"U-Uh. Fella?"

"It should be glaringly obvious, gramps," Yusuke started, allowing the red-clad boy to ease up by lowering his head, "I'm under no obligation to accept you as my head honcho," His nonchalant explanation made Happosai gape.

"Told ya so!" Ranma bragged with a stuck out tongue.

"B-But ya have to!" Happosai insisted with a wince, "I was the one that summoned ya, ya ungrateful demon! You have to listen to me! You _just _have to listen to me!"

Yusuke pressed his index finger to his temple, trying to soothe the migraine he could feel coming on, "No, I don't." He said flatly, "Last time I checked I had my own freedom just like every other supernatural being. Naturally, I have no plans to surrender that emancipation to anyone, especially to an old man who thinks he's still in diapers. And if you continue to act like a petulant brat throwing a temper tantrum because he can't get his way, then I will just have to eradicate you, won't I?"

"Uh. Say what now?" Ranma asked blankly, not understanding what Yusuke said.

"Grr! How dare you talk back to your master, you ungrateful brat!" Happosai raged, "You're just like that hooligan Ranma! Well, I'll teach ya some manners, then! I'll teach both of you whippersnappers some manners, you disrespectful brat!"

"Fat chance of that ever happening," Ranma said with bored indifference, though his eyes dilated when he saw Happosai leap into the air and pull out a similar explosive object.

"Happo great fire burst!" Happosai announced grandly, chucking a bomb at Yusuke.

"Whoa! Hey, watch o-!"

"Shut up," Yusuke curtly commanded, silencing Ranma.

From Ranma's point-of-view, Yusuke essentially teleported, making him jump back so much in surprise he ended up falling on his rear, "Whoa, that's fast!" Ranma gaped, catching sight of Yusuke now standing next to Happosai, a defused bomb hanging limply in his fingers.

"Really, old man?" Yusuke deadpanned at the seething little elder, abruptly crushing the bomb in a one-handed grip, releasing its explosive powder, "That's all your arsenal of attacks consists of, cheap bombs anyone even mildly super-powered can nullify with their speed or just straight-up endurance?" He shook his head with a small sneer lingering on the edges of his lips, "No wonder you summoned me to deal with the squirt over there if this is really all you can dish out."

"H-Hey!" Ranma chimed in indignantly, "I'm not a squirt damn it!" He pouted. Evidently, he wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer, which explained why he preferred to keep his sentences brief, curt, and to the point, but he was smart enough to know when he was being insulted, especially considering he used insults frequently himself.

"Fine! Then I'll just clobber ya the good old fashion way!" Happosai screeched determinedly, springing off of his feet with an unnatural leap, but only into the bear-like clutch of the dubbed demon he had summoned to punish Ranma.

"Yeesh. I got better things to do to preoccupy my time then to spend it play-fighting with a babyish elder who just can't get over the fact that his adolescent-days are long behind him. Even disregarding your obnoxiously childish-nature you're totally expendable anyway," Yusuke explained, feeling Happosai's entire body go limp when the last words of his statement slipped past his lips.

Ranma's eyes widened in horror, 'Is he gonna-?'

A sinister smirk slipped on the countenance of Yusuke, but despite his devilish-tendencies he still filled Ranma's eyes with amazement by conjuring up a eclipsing ball of Ki in the palm of his hand, "You want to know what death tastes like?"

Happosai's mouth flopped open but nothing but air came out, followed by a high-pitch squeak when he was treated to a burning sensation, melting away his very skin itself. He didn't know whether it was a blessing that his vision was blindsided by the dark luminescence of the satanic orb before his face or a curse. He might not have been able to see his tormentor's devilish smirk but the light strained his eyes.

Luckily, Happosai's dilemma would be put to rest as was obviously essential for his imminent eradication. Aiming the tiny old man toward the roof, Yusuke whispered coldly, "Sayonara," The orb pressing against Happosai's face morphed into a long beam-like wave of power that carried the old man through a massive portion of the roof, letting in convenient rain.

The resulting explosion was deafening and the torn the heavens, the clouds, themselves apart. The enormous length of the devilish blast covered wide distances of Nerima and its very intensity forced Ranma onto "his knees" as the water-prone, cursed-martial artist screamed from the loud, voluminous noise.

When the noise settled down nothing was left of the old man known as Happosai but a cloud of smoke.

"Y-Ya... killed him."

Yusuke's eyebrow up in curiosity at Ranma's change of voice. Instead of the masculine hoarse tone he had heard from the boy, this one was soft and very much feminine.

"Y-Ya actually killed the old freak..." The same feminine voice clarified once again in shock.

"Well, what did you think I did?" Yusuke asked dryly, twirling his head to Ranma, only to end up gawking at what stood in the boy's place, "Whoa, hot damn babe. Didn't know you had a smoky hot transformation like this in your locker," Whatever the squirt did to morph himself into herself Yusuke was content with it. His... her body was considerably shorter, her hair was now red, and she had the curvaceous body and busty breasts of a smoking hot young woman.

"Well, duh. What did ya think I was, huh?" Ranma snapped, rolling her still blue but infinitely more beautiful eyes, though thinking about the young man's reaction to her curse form got her thinking in a thoughtful manner, "Tho, no one's ever reacted ta my curse in dat way bee-four."

"Curse, huh?" Yusuke said, chewing on that piece of info as he disappeared and reappeared behind the stunning redheaded girl, ducking his arms underneath her armpits to grab her breasts, ignoring her cringe to enjoy the cushy feel of them in his hands, "Seems more like a blessing to me."

Blushing angrily, Ranma shouted, "You perv!" Trying to move Ranma gritted her teeth when she realized she couldn't even budge him, 'Aw, nuts. He's tough!' She mused, "Leggo of me so I can pound yer butt!"

Pushing Ranma's body forward with a mischievous grin on his face while leaving his left hand on her boob, Yusuke reared his right hand back, sending it flying toward Ranma's rear. The consequential spank not only caused Ranma's butt to jingle but sent a stinging wave of pain through the busty big-breasted, red-haired girl, "Ouch!" Being permitted to leave the strong grip of her newest molester, Ranma hopped forward, cupping her butt-cheeks, "That stung, ya jerk!" Attempting to take the pervert's head off with a well-placed round-house kick, Ranma ended up glowering when the green-clad man smoothly ducked underneath it.

"Hey, nifty skills, baby," Yusuke said, impressed by Ranma's skill. With a casual bop on her mop of red hair, Yusuke forced Ranma to the ground on her stomach, "But unfortunately for you, baby, you're just nowhere near adequate enough to lay a finger on me."

"Jerk."

"What's going on in here?"

At the sound of a familiar voice, Ranma's eyes widened.

Casually placing his hands into his pockets, Yusuke found the doors to the dojo hall swung open, giving entrance to two people and a creature.

One happened to be a sunburned coloured man with long black straightened hair falling to his mid-back which was complemented by his moustache. Like Ranma, his own attire portrayed his martial arts affinity, consisting of a grey karate-styled Gi-top with the addition of grey pants, finished off by a black sash tied around his waist. He left a bit of his Gi-open to reveal his well-toned chest.

When he curiously noticed the rain somehow penetrating the amidst of his dojo, he looked up, his eyes bulging out with petrified acknowledgement.

"M-My, m-my, m-my roof!"

The creature just so happened to be a robust black and white panda. What it was doing all the way out here in Japan Yusuke could only guess that it was more than just a panda, especially given the fact that it was conscious enough to peer inquisitively at him.

*Who's that?*

Holy, shit. What the fuck did Yusuke just see? That panda just conjured up a sign to depict his question to the others. How the hell did he do that? 'Well, this joint continues to peak my interest by the minute. Haha,' Yusuke thought puckishly, 'I should've had the proper courtesy to thank that petulant douchebag for bringing me here. Needed the vacation away from the old man anyway.'

The last person of the trio to appear was a beautiful young woman with a crop of short blue hair that fell to her shoulders. Her own garments comprised of a pink collared short-sleeved shirt underneath a sun-flower yellow long-sleeved jumper, complemented by a pink frilly skirt reaching her knees, over black-legging, and a pair of white socks were fitted on her feet.

Her dark eyes held fury, and were currently pinned on the downed form of Ranma, "Ranma, you jerk!" She yelled, eliciting a cringe from the redhead, the panda, and the sunburned man before the blue-haired beauty started to stomp over to her, "What the hell do you think you're doing, mister!"

"Aw, now what did I do ta tick you off, ya stupid tomboy?" Ranma impulsively snapped. When the dubbed tomboy quickened her pace, she flinched in fear, all but revealing to Yusuke that she truly had not meant what she just uttered moments ago, "I-I-I d-didn't d-do n~nuthin, Akane!"

"Don't sit there and lie to me! You know exactly what you've done!" Akane raged, snatching Ranma up by the neck, "You destroyed the roof!" With her reasons justified, Akane clenched her hand into a fist and threw it at Ranma, intent on punishing her before finding her wrist handcuffed by a mighty grip, "Eh?"

"I did it." Ranma gaped at Yusuke's admittance.

Akane blinked, looking at the young man who had stopped her from attacking Ranma, "What do you mean sir?"

"The roof," Yusuke deadpanned, "Its annihilation was my doing, not hers," Paying no heed to Akane's surprised look of recognition, Yusuke calmly clarified, "Or him if it floats your boat."

"But why?" Akane asked sadly, "Why would you do such a nasty thing to us?"

First scratching his head, Yusuke took Akane's hands in his, freeing Ranma of her venomous grip, "I was taking care of your pest problem."

Looking at the panda with a puzzled expression on his face, the black-haired man very carefully and warily stepped forward, slowly lifting up his hands, "U-Uh. If you don't mind me asking, lad... but what do you mean by such a vague statement?" He coughed slightly, "Yes."

"The child-esque elderly geezer," The cautious man's eyes, as well as the panda's, widened at Yusuke's description of Happosai, "Is no more."

"If I may ask another question," The moustache man said with distinct politeness, rubbing his hands with a snaky smile on his face, "'By no more,' you wouldn't happen to be insinuating to-?"

"Yes, he's dead," Yusuke bluntly cut off the man, "I erased every piece of his existence in its entirety. He won't be coming back."

A silence lingered over the area.

"Saotome... do you know what this means?"

*Yes,* The panda now identified as Genma Saotome lifted up a sign with a look of oddly placed wise consideration on his panda-countenance. The-true Genma was quickly revealed in an upsurge of cheerful delight, *We're finally free of the evil master!*

"Oh! How I have long to see this day!" Soun Tendo excessively cheered, pumping both of his fists into the air, the three teenagers just watching the two adults celebrate Happosai's death with bizarre looks on their faces, "Thank you, lad! Thank you, lad!"

*Yes! Pandas everywhere are forever in your debt!*

"Come Saotome, the day is young and master-free! We shall celebrate this joyous occasion with a bottle of sake and a game of shogi!" Soun said buoyantly, swinging his arm around Genma's shoulder.

*You're on!*

Once the two overly happy adults would exit the Dojo, an audible dust ball of wind would blow past, a tribute to the deafening silence.

"What the goddamned shit just happened?" Yusuke asked with a strange expression on his face.

Akane sighed, not realizing in her passive irritation that she still hadn't let go of Yusuke's hands, "Papa and Uncle Saotome never did like Grandfather Happosai. Actually, they were scared of him and wished he would go away, but..." The implications of Akane prematurely ending her sentence was all that Yusuke needed to know why Happosai stayed here when he wasn't welcome.

They just wasn't strong enough to beat him.

Holding her arm, Ranma's eyes fell on Yusuke's and Akane's intertwined hands, 'Wonder how nut-case can even hold tomboy's hands without getting smashed six ways ta Sunday,' The redhead blushed in admiration of Yusuke's ability to completely negate righteous feminine fury. Shaking her head, Ranma asked the thing that came to her mind in order to stop admiring Yusuke, "So, are ya gonna be here for a while... err, mister serial kil-? Woops-..." She clamped her hands over her mouth.

Looking at Ranma, Yusuke took her hesitation as his cue to bring up his name, "Yusuke Urameshi, and yes, I will be staying here for a bit."

Ranma hung her head in despondency, "Aw, rats."

"But Urameshi-san, you can't just decide that," Akane timidly told the teen holding her hands. Something about the aura he was emanating told her getting angry with him just wouldn't work out well for her.

"Says who? I hardly doubt the loon duo are gonna reject to that after I got rid of their worst nightmare," Yusuke retorted.

Akane sighed dryly, "You have a point there."

Nodding his head, Yusuke let go of Akane's hands, making the girl self-consciously bring her hands up to her chest in embarrassment, "That's what I'm saying. Moreover, it was my attack which eradicated his roof. At least I could do is repair it or gather the loot to pay off my debts, so I'll be staying here until then."

"Oh wow. I never thought of it like that. That's really nice of you Urameshi-san," Akane said with a smile.

Ranma gaped, 'How the heck can they speak so swimmingly?' Akane usually walked all over her after three sentences shared between them.

Yusuke waved his hand in an act of dismissal, "Not really, I'm just correcting a mistake I, by all rights, made. Nothing wrong with that. Now, I gotta ask, you got any grub up in this joint? I'm starved."

Akane smiled brightly despite noticing the similarities in Ranma's and Yusuke's speech mechanisms, though Yusuke's was notably more eloquent, "Oh, of course. Kasumi-oneesama's almost finished dinner. Here, let me introduce you to her!" She said, rushing to Yusuke's side.

"Cool. Name?"

"Oh. Silly me. I'm Akane! Akane Tendo!"

"Nice to meet you, honey."

"Has she gone nuts or sumthin'?" Ranma asked blankly, seeing Akane lead Yusuke out of the dojo by his hand, "Ugh. Can't believe I might have another flippin' rival."

The million dollar question was, who?


	2. No Rest for the Wicked

**Disclaimer: I don't own YuYu Hakusho or Tekken or Ranma 1/2**

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><p>That night in the aftermath of the petulant elder's death, Yusuke was treated like a celebrity by Happosai's former students, Soun and Genma, which only served to annoy the young man. The amount of blindsided admiration the two showed him gave him the impression if he asked them to drop down to their hands and knees and kiss his ass, they probably would have.<p>

Figuratively speaking, they had already accomplished that.

The she-boy Ranma Saotome just kept trying to downplay the significance of his victory over Happosai, but Yusuke already deduced that was just the glory hog part of him feeling sore that he never dealt with the old man himself/herself, so he didn't press the issue. Besides, it was just one little old man he had defeated, nothing to brag about.

Compared to his granddad and cousin he was an ant. On a minor side note, Yusuke had discovered both Ranma and his father, Genma, were cursed to become a girl and a panda by the touch of cold water because Genma ignorantly took them to Jusenkyo, located in China even though he couldn't read a lick of Chinese. Fortunately, hot water turns them back to normal.

...And apparently, they weren't the only victims of Jusenkyo in the City of Nerima.

Going back to the little elder, Yusuke found it slightly interested that the maidenly lady who essentially embraced the traditional housewife role showed kind indifference to Happosai's removal from the world. It was almost eyebrow-raising just how cheerful she was, but seeing her stay in that persona even when Akane and Ranma were arguing over a plate of grub she made the gender-bender that Yusuke himself put an effective stop to, Yusuke sarcastically deduced she was a robot set on benevolence.

The only one he hadn't currently worked out was Akane's middle sister, a sassy young woman with shoulder-length brown-hair, clearly not afraid to mock her father's, Soun Tendo's, and Genma's cowardice or Ranma's petty jealously with sardonic remarks.

Yusuke kind of liked her. She had the backbone to just bluntly tell it like it is, though he lost further respect for Ranma and the fathers went they all just cringed and shied away from her, as if they were scared of her.

He didn't understand that. Nabiki was just a normal human being scarce of anything resembling power, hence she couldn't order them around. Then again he was still trying to wrap his head around the fact an normally composed guy like Ranma could be so impulsive and indecisive when it came to Akane. The she-boy could've just told the girl in a calm, dignified manner that he didn't desire her food, instead of tossing a smart ass remark in her face. It would've spared him from Akane's wrath.

Luckily for Ranma, Yusuke was there.

It amazed the braided-haired boy how calmly Yusuke placated Akane's temper without sacrificing any of his dignity. He just grabbed her wrist like he had done in the dojo before Akane could pick up the dinner table to clobber Ranma over the head with it, tasted her food himself, and told her what she did wrong.

And nothing else happened. Akane just humbly accepted the criticism and took the plate back in the kitchen, leaving her daddy, Genma and Ranma stunned at Yusuke's decisiveness.

The Road to Enlightenment or The Path to Darkness

**C**

**H**

**A**

**P**

**T**

**E**

**R**

**TWO**

No Rest for the Wicked

"Aw, man," Ranma yawned, ambling casually on the fence blocking entrance to a canal, a backpack slung on his back, "Me and mornings don't see eye-to-eye."

"I can see that," Yusuke said, sauntering next to Akane on the ground with his hands tucked into his pockets, letting out a short laugh, "Who doesn't though."

"Gee. Dat means a lot." Ranma said sarcastically, folding his arms behind his head, "But seriously tho, did ya hafta wake me up so damned early, pal?"

"Oh give it a rest Ranma," Akane tiredly commanded. Contrary to Ranma's non-uniform, Akane wore hers, which consisted of a short-sleeved white-collared shirt underneath a blue dress that extended down to her white-sock clad ankles, black shoes fitted on her feet and a business-bag in her hands.

"Would if I could," Ranma lazily quipped back at her, drawing a glare from the blue-haired girl, "Just wondering why Yusuke had ta come along. I mean, it ain't like he has ta go ta school or nuthin', the lucky guy."

"Kasumi requested I play chaperone for you two," Yusuke said, earning himself an inquisitive expression from the boy balancing on the fence, "She wanted to be sure you kids got there without tearing each other's heads off," He shrugged, "Just think of me as a failsafe in case things go haywire between you two."

"Oh please! What the heck do ya take me for anyway, a frigging yellow belly sissy?" Ranma challenged, crossing his arms and turning his nose in the air, "Gimme a break. I can shut down tomboy no problemo. Heck, she has to be the weakest martial artist on the block-."

"Gah!" Akane raged, causing the braided-haired boy to cringe.

"A-Akane! A-Akane!" He stuttered helplessly, flailing his arms around in a feeble attempt to placate her.

Shifting her school bag entirely in her right hand, Akane clenched her left one tightly, heaving it up into the air with her face distorted in fury, "Ranma you je-."

"Oi!" Yusuke said, the intensity within his 'purple' pupil he allowed her a glimpse of by lowering his head was what froze her in her place rather than his stern commanding voice. It definitely helped somewhat though, "Lower your fist. Now."

"Oh okay, Yusuke, I understand. I'm sorry," Akane said shyly, bringing her arm down and unclenching her fist to hold her bag with both hands.

Giving Akane an approving nod, Yusuke pushed up his sunglasses using his index finger with an inhale through his nostrils, "It's okay. You were within your right given the circumstances," He jabbed his hand into his pocket again, "Just be cool now, because I really don't feel like applying for a prescription for chill pills, y'hear?" The roguish grin he flashed her told her he was only teasing her.

"Right! I'll be as cool as the north pole!" Akane joked back.

"Whoa, don't go that far, dame. We wouldn't want you being an unemotional robot now, would we?" Yusuke asked rhetorically, a small sheepish grin on his face.

A couple of rosy red circles from embarrassment appeared on Akane's cheeks, "Whoops. I didn't think about that."

"Clumsy you, huh?"

"Mmm-Hmm."

"Huh?" Ranma hesitated, peering his eyes open to see Yusuke's stony, deadpanned stare.

"Point proven." Yusuke quipped, causing Ranma to slump his shoulders in a moment of lamentation.

"Oh man."

The trio would travel past a few more blocks in relative peaceful silence before Yusuke got his usual craving for nicotine.

Checking the time on his watch, Yusuke asked, "What time does your first period start?"

"8:45, why?" Akane answered with blinking eyes, mirroring Ranma's expression of curiosity.

"Good. Plenty of time for me get a pack of smokes," Yusuke answered with a gleeful grin on his countenance, drawing a pair of sighs from Akane and Ranma, who had both been aware of Yusuke's love for cigarettes since he enjoyed a few good smokes with Soun last night.

"Okay. Let's go, Ranma and I will show you to the nearest shop," Akane said, passively accepting the detour. Glancing up at Ranma, she asked in an expectant tone, making Ranma squat down and cup his cheek in boredom, "Won't we Ranma?"

"Like I have a choice."

XxX

(Moments Later)

The journey to the nearest convenience store hadn't taken long considering the short distance trio had to saunter, though it did bring up one fascinating question.

Why was Yusuke continuously stumbling into people, momentarily knocking their shoulders to the side? Okay, this only happened a maximum of three times, but excessive impudence was something neither Akane nor Ranma would actually associate Yusuke with.

He even had the proper courtesy to toss a brief apology to the individuals he had barged into.

Ranma obviously couldn't resist throwing Yusuke a cheeky remark comprising of, "Someone's awfully tipsy, huh?" But Yusuke just blanked him out completely, leaving Akane to silence the braided-haired boy into submission with a glare.

Once they arrived at the shop, Yusuke ordered the two to remain outside while he ventured inside, immediately setting the shopkeeper on guard, getting honed in on with a sharp hawk-eye.

Outwardly, Yusuke simply glanced at the paranoid old man with an air of indifference but inwardly, he smiled mischievously, 'Love it when old geezers misinterpret my intentions just by my cover. It just makes it a hell of a lot sweeter when I jack his shit.' He sniggered internally, swiping a pair of particular pack of biscuits off of the stand.

Usually when someone pocketed an item they had yet to pay for, the clerk would go into a frenzy, demanding that the potential thief pay for the good he was attempting to nab. It was just unfortunate this old man didn't even see Yusuke move his hand out of his pocket, let alone pick up any item.

Being superhuman sure had it advantages, and in this instance only a warrior of equal or great prowess would've been able to catch sight of Yusuke nabbing his usual choice of biscuits.

Masking his smugness with a face of mock-innocence, Yusuke swaggered up to the counter, greeting the shop clerk with courtesy, "Morning sir." If the grimace that decorated the man's face was anything to go by, it was saying that he wasn't buying the shady-looking youngster's ruse.

"What do you want… _boy_?" He gruffly asked, pointedly emphasizing the last word that slipped past his lips.

'Damn. Old guy ain't playing.' Yusuke chuckled inwardly, now letting the man see his puckish grin in full just to annoy him, "Ouch. Didn't think that was anyway to speak to a customer. Guess that means the clichéd motto, 'the customer's always right' doesn't apply around here huh?"

The man rolled his eyes, "Look, are you going to buy something or not? I'm very busy."

"Yep. Busy sure is booming around here," Yusuke said sardonically, looking around, "But cutting to the chase, I'll take a box of your finest cigarettes my good man."

"No."

Yusuke glanced downward, not letting the man see his smirk, 'And the wheels are set in motion.' Looking up, he expertly feigned ignorance, "No?"

"You're too young to buy cigarettes."

"So you think you can just determine my age with a brief inspection of my mug?"

"Show me some identification and I'll reconsider."

Looking briefly startled, a flash of resignation appeared on Yusuke's countenance and he nodded his head, turning around to stalk out of the shop, much to the owner's conceit.

"You little shi-." Faster than the old man could've even anticipated much less dodged, a fist made contact right between his eyes, staggering him into unconsciousness with his body slamming into his cigarette-shelf. Most of them collapsed to the floor, burying the sleeping man in a messy pile.

"That enough identification for ya," Yusuke bragged, leaping over the counter. Picking up a couple of his usual packs of smokes, he pocketed them and turned toward the cash-register, "Might as well help myself to some cheddar for the road." Ignoring the ringing sound that automatically echoed through the air with the opening of the cash-register, Yusuke removed all the notes and some of the coins, "Sorted."

Yusuke squatted his knees, jumping neatly over the counter without using the counter for leverage this time. Placing his required money into his extra pockets on his baggy slacks, he casually began walking toward the exit, giving the knocked out store-clerk one last remark of appreciation.

"Thanks."

XxX

Opening the door, Yusuke found Akane and Ranma sitting over on a bench directly opposite from the shop, exactly where he had left them.

"Business concluded." Yusuke said, drawing Akane and Ranma's attention.

"What?" Akane blinked, rising to her feet.

"Eh. Figure of speech. Forget about it." Yusuke said dismissively, placing a cigarette in between his lips, keeping an index finger pressed to the tip, "More importantly, let's get you kids to school." He inhaled, miraculously drawing in a drag of smoke.

"Great, school; my favourite place to be," Ranma said with sarcasm that was quickly becoming a trademark of his. When his nose caught a whiff of smoke, his eyes trailed their lead over to Yusuke, finding him exhaling. Now that surprised him because he was sure Yusuke didn't have a lighter in his hand nor did he show any indication of ever pulling one out.

"Eh?" Ranma echoed, stupefied.

"Hey, what's wrong, Ranma?" Akane asked curiously.

"He's smokin'!" Ranma bluntly exclaimed as if it were obvious, pointing at Yusuke who just took another drag of his cigarette with an air of disinterest hanging over him.

Akane blinked, looking over at Yusuke. She couldn't see what was so mind-blowing about him smoking. They already knew he did since yesterday, "I don't get it. Yusuke has a smoking fetish like daddy. We already know this, Ranma!"

"Gah! Idiot! Do I hafta spell it out fer ya?" Ranma said, pulling out his imaginary hair, "He didn't use a darn lighter, damn it!"

"Oh." Akane said in acknowledgement, "That's… wow. I don't even know what to say."

"Thank you." Ranma said curtly, crossing his arms.

Turning to Yusuke, Akane donned her best polite smile, "How did you light your cigarette without a lighter, Yusuke?"

"Ehhh?" Yusuke stalled, drawing in another inhale of rich tobacco.

"C'mon buddy, don't hold out on us!" Ranma suggested, "Well actually, just don't hold out on me. Ya can hold out on Akane all you want tho, since she wouldn't be able ta make heads-or-tails outta yer trick anyway." Akane pouted at Ranma, wishing he could get his comeuppance.

Feeling a moderately strong chi-signature penetrate the scope of his sensory range at two O clock, Yusuke discreetly looked off into the distance, 'Mother of all convenience,' He mused, hearing a bell ringing in the distance. He was sure only he could hear it due to his enhanced hearing; a family-trait.

Once the sound got close enough for Yusuke's companions to hear, their reactions varied. While Akane glowered, a look of acceptance fell on Ranma's face.

'Gee. Just what I need in the morning, a face full of tire tracks,' Ranma thought glumly and sarcastically, closing his eyes, 'Betta get this over with then.' He picked up on the sounds of a bike leaving the ground, 'Here we go. Again. Gah. When will she get it into her head I-.'

Ranma's thought process trailed off by a thunderous pain crashing into his face.

"Aiyaa!" Came the bubbly voice of a blue-haired girl cheerfully propped on Ranma's face. Her lengthy ocean blue hair extended down to her mid back and was styled in a uniquely distinguishable way, with a pair of buns tied by yellow ribbons and a couple of long strands hanging past her shoulders.

Her clothing suggested she was of Chinese descent since they consisted of a Chinese tight pink blouse that emphasized her magnificent breasts and shapely hips, matching tight pin pants that left parts of her ankles on show and red high heels clad on her feet.

Cheerfully bouncing off of Ranma's face as if it were a bike ram, the Chinese-dressed girl spun and faced him, effortlessly supporting her light weight by propping one foot from her pedal to the ground, "Aiyaa! Shampoo so happy she run into airen!"

'Is she for real or just Chinese?' Yusuke rhetorically wondered, a bizarre expression on his countenance, 'Must be the latter, unless she's as bone-headed as the kid here and the elderly squirt I iced yesterday,' Considering how many unintelligent people he had met already in this neighbourhood let alone the entire city, he wouldn't doubt the girl's stupidity being the main fault for her abysmal grammar, rather than Japanese being her second language.

"Damn it, Shampoo!" Ranma said, aggravated, "What the heck do ya need now?"

Steady leaning her bike up against a lamppost, mindful a package sat within a basket didn't fall off, Shampoo hurtled over to Ranma with inhuman speed so high Akane was unable to see her again, and when the youngest Tendo did, she was left annoyed finding the warrior with her arms wrapped tightly around an awkwardly squirming Ranma's neck.

"Shampoo on quick delivery run before school."

"G-Great! So can ya get the flip off of me now?" Ranma commanded with impatience.

"Aw, but Shampoo like cuddle with Airen. Airen like cuddle with his Shampoo, too. Yes?"

"N-No!"

"No?"

"N-No… I-I-I m-mean, ye-. *Sigh.* Look, can ya just get off of me?"

"Aw. Airen just shy, yes?"

"Aw, man."

"Ranma," Akane growled lowly, her face beet red in anger. Before she could explode on Ranma, though, she felt a stern grip on wrist, making her look to the side to find Yusuke ushering her along, "Yusuke?" She asked, feeling her irritation dissipate by Yusuke's no-nonsense approach.

"Move along." He commanded.

"But Ranma-."

"Do not make me waste another breath repeating myself young lady, otherwise the consequences will be unforgiving."

With a wince, Akane nodded obediently, following after Yusuke, "Okay."

"Hey! You're just gonna leave me here? With her!?" Ranma called out in a mixture of disbelief and desperation.

"Well since you're having so much fun with her, we don't see why not." Akane said, managing to keep her anger bottled up to toss Ranma a disdainful explanation without even sparing a glance at him.

"Aw, you're stupid tomb-."

"Aiyaa! Angry-girl has mate now, yes? That mean she no longer bother my Aiyaa so we can get married! That wonderful, yes, Airen?"

"Hey, don't put words in my mouth damn it!"

"I don't care what you do with each other, you pervert!" Akane shouted, shrinking back into her timid demeanour from a deadpanned stare from Yusuke.

"Stop running your mouth then and go," Yusuke suggested, getting a nod from Akane.

XxX

(Later – Furinkan High School)

After leaving Ranma in the hands of Shampoo, Yusuke and Akane continued their trek toward Furinkan High school. Most of their trip was spent much in silence, mostly because Akane was too nervous to spark up a conversation and instead chose to spend the reminder of their travel contemplating the enigma beside her.

He was unlike any other guy she had ever met and that included the sweet boy who seemed perpetually lost.

He wasn't a total rude-guy, but he wasn't exactly winning any awards for courtesy either. Akane found it difficult to describe his attitude toward others. He had spoken to them with noticeable reverence though didn't decline from countering her sister's mocking remarks with ones of his own. Then there was the fact he had nullified her anger with a curt command and a stern glare.

That was just mind-boggling to Akane.

She didn't think she would ever meet a guy who would lay a finger on her. Of course Yusuke hadn't smacked Akane yet, but who was to say he wouldn't? Akane could certainly feel that vibe from him but if she was being honest with herself, it was kind of refreshing to be treated like an actual martial artist and not as a feeble glass vine a superior male couldn't touch in fear of breaking her.

'Now that I think about it Yusuke isn't so bad,' Akane mused with a smile, looking at the man walking beside her, 'Sure he's a little rough around the edges, but at least he doesn't belittle me like a certain other _jerk._'

"Hey."

Akane was drawn from her thoughts by Yusuke's call.

"Yes, Yusuke? What is it?" She asked.

"Is this the place?" He asked, pointing ahead of him.

She blinked, following his finger to find a four-story building with a clock-face. Given her sigh of passive resignation Yusuke figured she was familiar with the young man standing in between the gates, wearing a light kimono, a pair of dark blue hakama, and wooden sandals. His ready stance and wooden sword said he was here to fight.

"Upperclassman Kuno," Akane said, pressing an index finger to her temple.

"Ah, the beauteous Akane Tendo, for it is such a joyous gift from the heavens above that I have been graced with thy presence," Kuno said, his tone flowery, "Ah. For I see the foul sorcerer Saotome is but not tainting thy innocent nature. Such is a shame the pigtailed goddess could not accompany thee. Ah! Perhaps she is still being held in captivity by the dreaded sorcerer? Yes, that must be it. Very well then! Beauteous Akane Tendo, I allow thee to accompany me on my travels to free the pigtailed goddess, then together we shall live happily ever after!"

A bolt of lightning struck the sky.

"What is this ass-clown on?" Yusuke asked bluntly, staring disdainfully at Kuno.

"Ugh! That idiot believes Ranma and I belong to him as if we were his trophies, but are being kept from him by Ranma himself!" Akane said heatedly.

Calmly processing the implications of Akane's explanation and Kuno's speech, Yusuke had to rub his eyes underneath his sunglasses at such blatant stupidity.

"Hold that call. Let's see if I've got this. Samurai-boy doesn't know chick-Ranma and guy-Ranma are just two sides of the same coin and somehow has it in his pea-sized little "brain" that guy-Ranma has both you and chick-Ranma, who he has endearingly decided to dub "the pigtailed goddess" for whatever reason, in servitude."

"That's it."

"Well… this sure makes a guy wonder how anyone so glaringly stupid could make it pass the second grade."

"I know, right!" Akane agreed, stomping her feet. "It makes it even worse than Ranma keeps egging him on!"

"Akane Tendo, I hate to rush thee but I'm going to have to insist we hurry to find-."

"You really are the bluntest knife in the kitchen drawer, huh?" Yusuke commented.

"And who might you be to speak to me like that?" Kuno asked, eyeing the potential rival with contempt.

"Your one call to the infirmary if you don't watch your mouth when you speak to me little boy," Yusuke quipped.

"Yusuke?"

"Run along honey. Leave this fool to me." Yusuke insisted.

"Okay," Akane nodded submissively, looking down, "Just don't hurt upperclassman Kuno too badly. I know how much of a jerk is, but the more you injure him the more determined he'll become to defeat you."

"Yeah we'll see about that. Now go," Yusuke ordered, watching Akane take a step forward before setting his sights on her jiggling rear, "Nice ass," He casually grabbed a chunk of Akane's rear in his hand, moving it up and down before giving it a spank for good measure.

"Pervert." Akane mumbled, hurtling off to class.

"Hehe." Kuno laughed darkly, "So it appears I have a new challenger. I'm undecided whether to put it down as ignorance or arrogance that thee would challenge myself, the great Tatewaki Kuno."

"You're one to talk." Yusuke chuckled scornfully, "You're living in a made-up fantasy world just to feel like you're all important to two girls who can barely even tolerate your presence." He sobered, looking like a serious mafia boss, "Someone riding the imaginary clouds ain't got the right to lecture me."

"I will not stand for such blatant lack of respect miscreant. Now, on guard! I shall offer thee thy atonement by smiting thee down where thee stand, then I secure the pigtailed goddess' safety, for I am Tatewaki Kun-." Before Kuno could even finish his pompous proclamation, Yusuke was in front of him.

"How did you…?" He asked in momentary shock before an angry grimace appeared on his features, "I see thee has tempered with sorcery like the foul sorcerer himself, Saotome. Very well, I shall enlighten thee of my obvious superior skill with a quick duel. If nothing else, it shall serve as an adequate warm-up for me before my real and most important battle begins for the pigta-."

But powerful clutch supplied to his jaw silenced his declaration, making him go wide-eyed at the mighty bear-like grip he was struggling to handle. The pain was so intense it took Kuno's mind off of the reminder of his body parts, making him drop his sword to the ground.

"Ranma's hair's braided dumbass," Was all Yusuke said before he casually snapped Kuno's neck, "At least now you can live in the clouds all you want." Lifting Kuno's body up as if he was a soccer ball, Yusuke casually booted him to the sky, watching him go.

XxX

"Is that… a bear?"

"What's it doing here?"

"I don't know?"

"Mommy, look at the nice bear? Can I keep it… pleaseeeee?"

"No, sweetie."

"But wh-?"

"Don't look at it?"

'So the trail leads me here.' An average-sized brown-furred bear mused to itself, rising up to its feet, much to the combination of awe and terror from the civilians. Other than the red bandanna wrapped around its neck, Kuma would've been an ordinary bear, and Kuma probably would've been if it wasn't trained as a bodyguard to one of the most powerful men on the planet and sort of keeper to his grandson. 'Now I just got to devise a plan that'll be sure to subdue the brat and drag him home.'

Sitting down in a leg-crossed position, Kuma folded its arms over its chest in deep contemplative thought.

This could take a while.

Yusuke had grown phenomenally powerful since his years under his grandfather's wing.

*Sigh*. What Kuma wouldn't do to be able to relive the days where he could easily bitch-slap Yusuke into submission and take him home.


End file.
